Thursday, June 28, 2007

The Swatch That Didn't Want to Be a Swatch

I did swatch. Honest, I did.

The silk lace weight yarn I tried was just too fine for the "scarf with the open and solid diamond lace edging" (from Victorian Lace Today, page 90). It was summarily frogged and re-wound on to the ball.

I swatched with some leftover Jaggerspun Zephyr, on 4.0 mm needles. I finished one pattern repeat. I finished a second repeat. I thought, "Oh, what the heck, I may as well finish the third repeat." So I did.

Before I knew it, I had almost one third of the scarf done! I guess this yarn just wants to be that scarf and who am I to discourage it from it's aspirations?

The technicalities: This pattern, as shown in the picture, is not as written in the pattern. The picture shows a 3-pointed edging; the pattern is written for a 4-pointed edging, making it wider. I'm doing the 3-pointed edging, obviously. There are corrections on the XRX website. The yarn I'm using, as stated, is Jaggerspun Zephyr, in the copper colourway. Don't ask me the colour number; it's the same one I used for my Icarus shawl. I really like working with this yarn. It slides through the fingers without being slick.

As for the pattern itself, once I got past the beginning lace section, which wasn't difficult but did demand some concentration, it's a simple knit, really. The center panel is a garter stitch base with diamonds comprised of double yarn overs. At this stage, it's an almost mindless knit.